This paper presents an analytical linear model developed to study the behaviour of a buckled membrane tidal energy converter. The Euler beam theory and the elongated body theory are used for the fluid structure interaction formulation, The effect of electromechanical converters used to convert the undulating motion into electrical energy is reproduced by adding a term equivalent to viscous material damping. The influence of compression force, flaps and hanging conditions is studied, as well as the effects of simulated power take-off through internal damping. The system's behaviour is characterized by undulating mode, critical flow velocity, motion frequency and amplitude. The model shows good agreement in terms of frequency and satisfactory results for the amplitude compared to experimental data. The linear assumptions were validated on fluid and structure models as a good start for a first analytical model describing the system's physic. The obtained results confirmed the benefits of initial stress and optimized damping to the tidal converter for energy harnessing. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.